The present invention relates to banding apparatus and pertains particularly to an apparatus for selecting and placing bands on articles or containers.
The banding of container tops and caps with heat shrinkable bands for sealing purposes has been known for quite some time. Suitable machines for carrying out this function have been known for some time and a suitable machine is disclosed and claimed in our U.S. Pat. No. 3,802,152, issued Apr. 9, 1974, and entitled "Banding Apparatus". Such machines are quite effective for the cutting and placing of bands around articles and container tops for most applications.
Heat shrinkable bands are also currently used for attachment of information packets and the like to bottles and other containers.
Current interest in the banding and sealing of large mouth food containers has created a need for more effective apparatus for handling bands of a large diameter to length ratio. The prior art machines and apparatus currently available are satisfactory and highly efficient for banding of small containers wherein the diameter of the container compared to the length of the band is not great.
A problem arises wherein the length of the band becomes quite short when compared to the diameter of the band. The presently known machines frequently become jammed because the band will not maintain its proper orientation within the machine or in passing from the machine onto the container.
It is apparent that more effective handling apparatus is required for handling such bands for large mouth containers and for the banding of such large articles.